(IRVING, Texas) - The polarizing debate over whether Boy Scouts of America should allow gay members could culminate with a vote on a new policy Wednesday.

But no matter which way the vote goes, activists on both sides aren't going to be satisfied.

The controversy pits leaders of religious groups that sponsor about 1 million Boy Scouts against activists who want the organization to end its ban on openly gay Scouts and Scout leaders.

Neither side is happy with BSA's proposal to let local troops decide if they want to allow gay members.

"What they've said to us and to other religious leaders is that they are doing this under pressure, and we're going to give people what basically amounts to a local option," said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention. "You can't have a local option of a core conviction."

Brad Hankins of Scouts for Equality also sees problems with passing the decision to local troops.

"We don't want to see Scouting gerrymandered into blue and red districts. So the best solution would be to end discrimination outright," he said.

The Boy Scouts of America has 2.7 million members nationwide. More than 70% of troops are affiliated with church or religious groups.

The debate has ignited a firestorm of comments on CNN.com and social media.

"Hopefully the BSA will make the decision to be more inclusive! I enjoyed my time as a scout, but would not want my future children to join an organization that doesn't promote equality," said Cole Fuller, one of thousands of readers who have shared their views in the comments section of CNN.com.

Other readers slammed the organization for considering the change and criticized gay rights advocates for pushing for it.

"Take a challenge and create your own organization with gay ideals, but don't ever force or coerce a child and don't force us to say your lifestyle is acceptable," said another poster identified as Dave McFarland.

By Wednesday morning, the Boy Scouts of America Facebook page had more than 27,000 comments on the issue.

Danny Kane disagreed: "We have an organization for all. It's called the Boy Scouts of America. Segregation is not an American value."

No Lesbian Den Mothers

The existing policy came under fire last year after Jennifer Tyrrell, an Ohio den leader, was dismissed by her local Boy Scout troop for being a lesbian.

In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts have a constitutional right to oppose homosexuality in its ranks.

"Forcing a group to accept certain members may impair the ability of the group to express those views, and only those views, that it intends to express," then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote after the court's 5-4 decision. He added that the decision was not meant to approve or condemn the Scouts' view on homosexuality.

But Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, founder of Scouts for Equality, says the ban on gays has backfired.

When he was 10, Wahls' Cub Scout pack had to find a new home because the BSA's policy violated the school's nondiscrimination rules.

"I was confused, because my den mother, Jackie - who is my actual mother - was a lesbian, and nobody in our unit had any issue with that," Wahls wrote.

The troop eventually found a new sponsor.

"But some parents pulled their kids from the pack, uncomfortable with entrusting their sons to an organization they believed engaged in discrimination," Wahls said.

"Unfortunately, because of the Boy Scouts of America's shortsighted policy, many of the boys who left my pack missed out on learning the lifelong principles, values and skills that Scouting offers."

Conservative groups take action

Changing the policy against having openly gay leaders or scouts "would be a grave mistake," the conservative Family Research Council and dozens of other groups said in a half-page ad in USA Today this week.

The message called on the Boy Scouts to "show courage" and "stand firm for timeless values."

"Every American who believes in freedom of thought and religious liberty should be alarmed by the attacks upon the Boy Scouts, who have had core convictions about morality for 100 years," the ad said. "Every Scout takes an oath to keep himself 'morally straight.' The Boy Scouts have every right to include sexual conduct in how they define that term."

Even before the controversy over admitting gays, Boy Scouts of America has seen a decline in membership, which has dropped by about one-third since 1999.